Need New Monitor - Any Suggestions?

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Lenova25 · #1 Post by **Lenova25** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:12 am

Im looking to purchase a new monitor for my desktop and occasionally for the laptop to hook up to. Does anyone have any suggestions for type/brand/features?
I dont want something too small, but I dont want anything too large either. Im guessing between 20 and 27 inches.

thanks

pianowizard · #2 Post by **pianowizard** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:46 am

I suggest that you focus on finding a 20" standard aspect ratio (1600x1200), 20" widescreen (1680x1050), or 24" widescreen (1920x1200) LCD. The reason is that 22" and 27" monitors are bigger but usually have the same resolutions as the 20" and 24" monitors respectively, so they take up more space but don't offer any more real estate. Lenovo does have the 22" L220X monitor with 1920x1200 resolution which would be even better (smaller) than the 24" monitors with the same res, but my understanding is it's pretty hard to get one.

Dell's LCDs are excellent. I have the 2007WFP (20") and the 2407WFP (24"). You can't go wrong with them.

#3 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:06 am

If all you need is a standard resolution 1600x1200 (4:3 aspect) and not a widescreen, it's very hard to beat this monitor:
HP LP2065
http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review3361.html

#4 Post by **erik** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 10:35 am

i'll throw in my vote for the L220x. availability seems to be getting better as i've been reading more often about customers taking delivery.

http://lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=180
http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board/mess ... hread.id=2

dr_st · #5 Post by **dr_st** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:49 pm

DELL 2007FP is another good option (for most things better than 2007WFP). Of course, if you have the funds and the desk space for the 2407WFP/L220x it will be even better.

pianowizard · #6 Post by **pianowizard** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:02 pm

dr_st wrote:DELL 2007FP is another good option (for most things better than 2007WFP)

That's actually what I was trying to get but the eBay seller shipped me the 2007WFP by mistake. I was [censored] and he gave me a $100 refund and let me keep the 2007WFP, so my final price was $165.

BTW, some earlier models of the 2001FP had IPS, so that might be even better than the 2007FP.

pianowizard · #7 Post by **pianowizard** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:48 am

I just discovered a great monitor: The Acer X193W+BD. It's 19", but the resolution is 1680x1050, the same as most 20" and 22" monitors so that you can conserve desktop space without sacrificing real estate (all other 19" LCDs only have 1440x1050). Another advantage is that this 19" LCD has the highest pixel density (104.3 DPI) among external LCDs, so when you drag documents/images/windows from your laptop to it, the change in size will be minimized. Newegg has it on sale for a very affordable $159.99 shipped. I am so tempted to get it but unfortunately I already have three LCDs.

TTY · #8 Post by **TTY** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:30 am

Eizo make very good monitors. For better viewing angles, avoid TN panel technology, get PVA or IPS instead. Also, get a matte panel. A glossy panel surface would reflect lamps and other light sources and it would work as a mirror and show a picture of yourself.

kosse · #9 Post by **kosse** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:00 am

I've heard a lot of appraisal for Lenovo L220x on local forums in my country. It seems to be one of the few reasonably priced high-res PVA monitors at least around here and has thus become very popular.

leoblob · #10 Post by **leoblob** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:27 am

Lenova25 wrote:Im looking to purchase a new monitor for my desktop and occasionally for the laptop to hook up to. Does anyone have any suggestions for type/brand/features?
I dont want something too small, but I dont want anything too large either. Im guessing between 20 and 27 inches.

thanks

What kind of work and/or play will you be using it for? How many hours per day are you in front of your computer? What resolutions does your video card support? What is your budget?

TTY · #11 Post by **TTY** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:21 pm

Before deciding on the monitor's bezel color, you might want to check TCODevelopment's Display School.

leoblob · #12 Post by **leoblob** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:20 pm

TTY wrote:Before deciding on the monitor's bezel color, you might want to check TCODevelopment's Display School.

Looks like it might be pretty interesting... but I don't know Swedish

FWIW, I've had LCDs with black and with beige bezels, and both were fine. I didn't notice any difference with respect to readability, eye fatigue, etc, even though I am fairly picky about monitors.

As for a brand, I've looked at quite a few LCDs and I've found NEC to be consistently good.

#13 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:26 pm

Looks like Swedish.
If I got it right, they advise a light bezel color, like gray or beige (my preference too)

#14 Post by **Harryc** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:49 pm

RealBlackStuff wrote:If I got it right, they advise a light bezel color, like gray or beige (my preference too)

I guess Thinkpads have the wrong color bezel then

TTY · #15 Post by **TTY** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:15 pm

leoblob wrote:Looks like it might be pretty interesting... but I don't know Swedish

Sorry. On my computer it's in English, but probably because I chose English on their homepage. To see it in English, you could go to their homepage. There you choose English for language at the top right. Then you click the "Computers" tab, locate the friendly looking "Advisor" lady and click on the link "First aid for a good workplace". A new window will open, there you click on the "Displays" tab. There you click "To the Display School". In the orange bar on top of the page, you click "Positioning and adjustments". There you proceed to page 4.

leoblob · #16 Post by **leoblob** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:30 pm

TTY wrote:...There you choose English for language at the top right...

Thank you! I can't believe I didn't see that before

t20user · #17 Post by **t20user** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:39 pm

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Samsung yet. My impression is that they make some of the best LCD monitors out. I have also heard good things about LG.

syedj · #18 Post by **syedj** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:45 pm

t20user wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned Samsung yet. My impression is that they make some of the best LCD monitors out. I have also heard good things about LG.

I have a Samsung 224T, couldn't be happier with the purchase. Its crisper than at least comparable Dell monitors that I have seen.

#19 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:37 am

Yesterday I got my brand spanking new HP LP1965.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm ... 96839.html
From eBay for only $163.50 + $31.76 UPS shipping.
19"
1280x1024
300nit
1000:1 contrast ratio
6ms response
tilt/height/pivot

WHAT A BEAUT!

pianowizard · #20 Post by **pianowizard** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:28 am

t20user wrote:My impression is that they make some of the best LCD monitors out.

I have a 20" 1600x1200 Samsung monitor that I purchased new several months ago. It is by far the worst LCD I've seen, with bad colors, fuzzy text and drifting ripples. But I'm using VGA and I suspect the DVI cable would be better, though I haven't had a chance to test that. If confirmed, this would be the first time I've noticed a difference between VGA and DVI.

My Dell 2407WFP (via VGA) is soooooo good. It's as good as my R50p's Flexview screen, with equally wide viewing angle and "black" is just as black. My Dell 2007WFP (via DVI) is clearly not as good in these respects, though it's still superior to the above-mentioned Samsung.

It seems that the OP is no longer interested in this topic, but this thread is still useful because I'm sure many people are looking to buy their first LCD monitor and these discussions can be helpful to them.

dr_st · #21 Post by **dr_st** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:33 am

pianowizard wrote:BTW, some earlier models of the 2001FP had IPS, so that might be even better than the 2007FP.

The 2007FP comes in IPS, I have one. It's just that some of them (maybe most) come in PVA, but it's not so bad either. In fact, of all IPS monitors I've ever seen, the 2007FP has by far the strongest purple hue when viewing black from the side, to the point where it can be a bit annoying. The 2007WFP is far better in this regard.

pianowizard wrote:I just discovered a great monitor: The Acer X193W+BD. It's 19", but the resolution is 1680x1050, the same as most 20" and 22" monitors so that you can conserve desktop space without sacrificing real estate (all other 19" LCDs only have 1440x1050). Another advantage is that this 19" LCD has the highest pixel density (104.3 DPI) among external LCDs, so when you drag documents/images/windows from your laptop to it, the change in size will be minimized. Newegg has it on sale for a very affordable $159.99 shipped. I am so tempted to get it but unfortunately I already have three LCDs.

Dude, that's not a great monitor. It's a piece of junk. It's the same lame TN panel that all 19" wide monitors use, only with WSXGA+. Big deal. The 2007WFP you have is infinitely better than that, both in terms of image quality and ergonomics. It's not like 1" (or even 3") will make such big a difference in desktop space. Unless you enjoy straining your eyes more by cramping higher res into a smaller frame and wrapping it up in a TN panel, I see no reason whatsoever to go for something like that.

t20user wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned Samsung yet. My impression is that they make some of the best LCD monitors out. I have also heard good things about LG.

Samsung and LG make some of the best LCD panels out there (Samsung makes PVA, LG makes IPS). However, 99% of their own monitors they equip with cheap crappy TN panels, so most of their monitors suck. The 244T mentioned is one exception, but considering it typically costs much more than the DELL 2407WFP and offers similar quality, it's not a very wise investment most of the time.

LG, HP and others have some very nice IPS monitors. But most of LG low-end is junk.

#22 Post by **erik** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:02 am

t20user wrote:I'm surprised no one has mentioned Samsung yet. My impression is that they make some of the best LCD monitors out.

the thinkvision L220x is a samsung S-PVA panel so technically they have been mentioned.

tylerwylie · #23 Post by **tylerwylie** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 3:34 pm

Have had a few BenQ's and they're amazing.

fuscob · #24 Post by **fuscob** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:19 pm

I've got two Samsung 225BWs that I love. They are 22" 1680x1050 (yes, I know the 20" is the same resolution). I'd recommend them...they've got some backlight bleed, but it's only noticeable on a completely dark screen as far as I'm concerned.

TTY · #25 Post by **TTY** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:45 am

RealBlackStuff wrote:Looks like Swedish.

A few users had difficulties to get TCO Development's recommendations for the color of a monitor's frame to display in English, the link that i posted earlier in this thread would lead to a page in Swedish. Therefore, here are TCO Development's recommendations (in English) concerning the color of displays' frames:

Colour of the frame
Think about the appearance of the room where the display is to stand. Choose a display with a frame which has a neutral colour compared with the lighting conditions in the display’s surroundings. This means that the frame surrounding the display must not be too dark or light compared with the wall behind the display.

If the frame surrounding the display seems too dark or too light, a problem with contrast is created which is extremely tiring for the eyes.

jamerslong · #26 Post by **jamerslong** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:28 am

I thought i would chime in.

Dont buy my monitor.. It's mine
J/k
no dont buy it though. it's a Norcent monitor.
cheap plastic. crappy built in speakers?
stuck pixels out of the box
bad contrast

it sucks

mgo · #27 Post by **mgo** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:08 pm

Lenova25 wrote:Im looking to purchase a new monitor for my desktop and occasionally for the laptop to hook up to. Does anyone have any suggestions for type/brand/features?
I dont want something too small, but I dont want anything too large either. Im guessing between 20 and 27 inches.

thanks

There are still a few matte screen 4:3 ratio monitors around that work nicely with the older ThinkPads. I found three (two 17 inchers and one 19 inch) in a local pawn shop. They were a little dusty, but otherwise perfect. Cost ran from $70.00 to slightly over $200.00.

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